Every week, CasinoBeats breaks down the numbers behind some of the industry’s most interesting stories. As Rank Group witnessed consistent land-based and digital growth, the Dutch gaming regulator issued another financial penalty and Kindred set out plans for its 13th North American retail launch.
174
Publishing its Q3 results for 2022/2023, Rank Group reported robust performance in both land-based and online trading as net gaming revenues climbed 13 per cent to £174m.
The NGR increase was supported by a 12 per cent uptick in venue-based NGR at £113m, alongside a 16 per cent increase in Digital NGR to £52.5m.
John O’Reilly, Rank Group CEO, commented: “We are pleased that the momentum we saw at the start of the second half of our financial year has continued with positive NGR growth across all our businesses.”
Rising visitor numbers and improved performance in both London and the rest of the UK saw Grosvenor venues witness a 15 per cent increase to £78m as the group’s casino unit witnessed an average weekly NGR of £6.1m for Q3.
Mecca establishments saw continued recovery with a 9 per cent NGR uplift at £35m, attributable to increases of 4 per cent in customer visits and 5 per cent in customer spend per visit.
Experiencing a growth of 16 per cent for the quarter, Rank Digital maintained growth in both the UK (15 per cent) and Spain (19 per cent), while the digital brands of Grosvenor and Mecca saw NGR increases of 23 and 15 per cent respectively. The group’s other digital UK services witnessed a seven per cent increase in Q3.
13
Signalling the group’s 13th retail launch in North America, Kindred Group activated its agreement with the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community by launching a retail operation at the Swinomish Casino & Lodge.
Kindred is set to begin the first phase of a sportsbook launch at the Anacortes, Washington casino as a part of its six-year partnership deal with the tribe.
The sports betting retail operation will feature Unibet-branded kiosks and over-the-counter betting, as well as an immersive sports betting lounge.
“We are delighted to launch the first phase of our exciting retail partnership with the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community,” commented Manuel Stan, SVP of North America, Kindred Group.
“Work continues at pace to build a fantastic Unibet sportsbook lounge, offering customers to the Swinomish Casino & Lodge a truly immersive sports betting experience.”
400,000
The Dutch Gaming Authority, Kansspelautoriteit, issued a fine of €400,000 to gambling provider BetEnt for an advertising violation.
Publishing a statement, the Netherlands’ regulator suggested that BetEnt, owned by Entain, had specifically targeted young adults – 18-24-year-olds – with its advertising, which is forbidden in the country.
the regulator started an investigation into BetEnt following the broadcast of Kassa, a consumer-focused TV programme that conducts investigations into products and services and tests them.
The programme stated that BetEnt, which trades as BetCity in the Dutch digital marketplace, sent advertising messages to young adults between 18 October 2021 and 24 March 2022.
KSA noted that this isn’t allowed since “young adults are a vulnerable target group. The brains of young people are still developing. As a result, they are extra susceptible to a gambling addiction”.
515.3
For the first time, Pennsylvania’s gaming revenue surpassed half a billion dollars as the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board published a March revenue of $515.3m.
The March revenue figure is an 11.35 per cent improvement year-over-year compared to the $462.7m generated by the Keystone State’s operators in March 2022.
Retail slots generated the most revenue with $225.4m, a 4.98 per cent rise YoY (2022: $214.7m), followed by igaming slots with $104.8m, a 32.36 increase (2022: $79.2m) and retail tables with $85.9m, an 8.91 per cent decline (2022: $94.3m).
Sports wagering revenue was next at $50.6m in March revenue, up 66.59 per cent YoY (2022: $30.4m), followed by igaming tables with $40.5m, a 13.42 per cent increase (2022: $35.7m) and video gaming terminals with $3.8m, a 1.87 per cent loss (2022: $3.8m).
Sports wagering handle for the month was $723.5m, up by 1.2 per cent compared to March 2022’s $715m.
Igaming poker had the biggest YoY revenue loss in the month, with a 10.82 per cent decline to $2.9m (2022: $3.2m), while fantasy contests earned $1.4m revenue, a slight increase compared to the previous year (2022: $1.39m).
5
The American Gaming Association reported that US commercial gaming operators in February recorded a monthly revenue of over $5bn for the sixth month in a row.
The AGA’s Commercial Gaming Revenue Tracker stated that February’s $5.08bn was a 13.5 per cent uptick year-over-year, as income across all verticals grew, but at a slower pace than January.
The US commercial gaming industry has also now accomplished 24 consecutive months of growth, with the AGA adding that February is “the last month of relatively soft annual comparisons due to COVID concerns,” as March 2022 was the first month that the industry topped $5bn in monthly revenue, which it has done in every month except for two since.
1.4
iGaming Ontario has revealed the Canadian province’s igaming revenue surpassed the CAD$520m mark in the market’s fourth quarter (January 1, 2023, to March 31, 2023).
For its first full year of operations, Ontario igaming has achieved $1.4bn in revenue, with each quarter rising on average by over 50 per cent in total wagers and gaming revenue.
From 44 operators with 75 gaming websites, iGO declared total wagers in Q4 of $13.5bn, up on Q3’s $11.5bn, and total gaming revenue in the quarter of $526m, an increase on Q3’s $463m.
70,000
The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario has handed fines to three operators totalling CAD$70,000 for violations of its igaming standards.
The AGCO said in a statement that Bunchberry Limited ($15,000), Mobile Incorporated Limited ($30,000) and LeoVegas Games ($25,000) have each been handed Notices of Monetary Penalty for breaching standards 4.08 and 4.09 – offering slot “games on their Ontario gaming sites that were not approved by the AGCO Registrar nor certified by an Independent Testing Laboratory”.
Mobile Incorporated was also found to have broken standard 1.22, which involves offering uncertified games from suppliers that are not registered with the Ontario regulatory agency.
487.4
New Jersey gaming verticals saw rises in year-over-year revenue in March as the state’s operators continued to see growth in the third month of the year.
Data from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) has revealed the Garden State’s operators – casinos, racetracks and their partners – earned $487.4m in March total gaming revenue, up 15 per cent YoY on March 2022’s $423.7m.
Year to date, New Jersey gaming revenue currently stands at $1.34bn, a 13.4 per cent uptick YoY (2022: $1.18bn).
